


Sanctity of the Night

by ammyamarant



Series: Night and the Day [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, M/M, Past Dirk/Jake, Road Trips, Suicidal Thoughts, Vampire Hunters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:00:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27504205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ammyamarant/pseuds/ammyamarant
Summary: You do not ignore a seer. This is something Dirk knows well. You follow the seer's directions if you wanted to live.There were plenty of other things he needed to make sure he wasn't ignoring including plenty of other things he didn't want to come true.But most importantly.You do not ignore the monsters of your past.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas
Series: Night and the Day [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1963237
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Sanctity of the Night

"Yes. Of course. This is the perfectly normal course of logic. Take a guy who has been shot in the fucking chest and put him on an airplane to fucking New York. Yes. This somehow makes sense in this reality."

"Are you going to pack or should I just throw some lacy underthings in the bag and call it a day?" Dave asked, almost sounding amused.

Karkat looked over his shoulder, glaring at him leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "Oh so it's perfectly normal to just take an injured person off to other cities on a whim to you?"

"Well, yeah. It's like an old friend at this point. Hello, worst time to travel, how have you been? Oh, you know, just dealing with this gaping wound in my body and fleeing the country. Just the usual. How are the kids? Oh little Timmy-"

"For fuck's sake," Karkat groaned. "I get it."

Breathing wasn't exactly comfortable yet, which was an uncomfortable reminder that a fucking vampire hunter decided to shoot him in the back and managed to miss his heart. It didn't escape his notice that he was still alive after something like that. And it didn't escape his notice that he was incredibly hungry for blood the entire time he was awake. Each breath almost felt like his humanity was slipping away and he did not like that.

With those thoughts, Karkat grabbed a handful of clothing. Shirts, pants, and at least one change of underwear. Good enough. He snagged another pair of socks, tossing that into the bag as well, and zipped it closed. "Surprised you assholes are awake."

Dave shrugged. "There usually aren't that many flights at night. Dirk's probably going to be passed out the entire time, and I'll definitely be doing the same."

Which… made sense. Karkat absently put a hand on the bed, steadying himself as he turned around. "Why the fuck are we flying, anyway? Is it that important that we get to this important person who fucking apparently knows exactly what's going on as soon as possible?" Fuck, he didn't know if he was going to be able to keep standing. He felt so hungry, wanting to rip into Dave's throat and drink deeply. Which, was not human and fucking weird.

Instead of answering, Dave just looked at him. "Dude, sit the fuck down," he finally said. "You don't have to be standing up until Dirk gets back with our shit." Karkat watched him start to lift one arm, then tuck it back in place. "Just sit down and don't pass out."

His arm had shaken. And now that Karkat looked closer, it looked less like him relaxing against the wall and more the wall was keeping Dave upright. "Yeah, that's a lovely hue of black you have there, pot."

It took Dave a moment, then he started to laugh. "Okay, that's a saying I haven't heard in decades. Sounds better in Spanish, not gonna lie."

Karkat lifted an eyebrow. "You speak Spanish?"

"Eh." Dave waved a hand, his arm shaking with the motion. "I haven't had to speak it in probably a century. I don't remember a lot of it. Probably couldn't have a conversation in Spanish without making an ass of myself."

It was getting harder and harder to stay upright. "You mean moreso than usual?"

Dave let out an annoyed noise, and next thing Karkat knew he was by his side. "Sit the fuck down already."

"Don't fucking do that," Karkat mumbled, not as much letting Dave guide him down to the bed but acquiescing to his rapidly weakening legs. "That speed thing is fucking unnerving." God, he just wanted to bite in, but considering how unnaturally pale for him Dave was looking…

Karkat looked away. "You look like you're about to pass out too."

For a moment, Dave didn't answer. "Nothing I can't deal with," he finally said glibly.

"Bullshit! I've been drinking too much of your blood."

"I mean, I can let you die next time."

The casually said words hit deep, a quiet reminder who he was talking to was not human and never had been. Karkat didn't answer, not sure how to answer. Any time any of the humans or Karkat had pointed that kind of shit out, Dave and Dirk just shrugged, almost like they didn't care how much it bothered the humans.

Karkat blinked, tensing at his line of thought. Any of the humans. He was already starting to think of Jade and John as 'other'. He… he was human, like them. He was just in this really weird state between vampire and human, and once this person in New York did whatever they were going to do, he'd be back to normal. Easy.

He could feel Dave sit down next to him, his cold hand a steady pressure on his back. Amazingly, he didn't say a word. He only sat there with him, hand on his back.

  


* * *

  


"Hope you can get a refund on those tickets," Dave said, deceptively lazy as he put his suitcase down, "because flying right now is going to be hard as fuck on Karkat in his state. Guy's going to swoon like a fictional dame wearing a tight-laced corset if he stands for too long."

Unfortunately, that was also what Dirk was thinking as he saw Karkat making his way unsteadily towards the car. He didn't quite know what would happen if he dropped unconscious in the middle of an airport, and something told him humans would see it as a reason for Karkat not to fly. At the same time, he had promised Roxy they'd be flying there…

And if Karkat fainted at the airport, it would take even longer.

timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG]

TT: Change of plans. Karkat's healing a lot slower than expected and I don't think humans will let him fly in this state.  
TG: awwww that sucks  
TG: well good things come to those who wait or some such shit like that  
TG: so are you coming by train or bus or waht bc a girl needs to know where to pick her best bud up

"Change of plans. We're not flying."

"Oh for fuck's- are we even going at all, Strider?"

TG: oh i bet i know what ur doing

"We're going on a road trip."

TT: Road trip. We'll see you in a few days.  
TG: sweet

A road trip was probably the better idea anyway. If he was turning into an elder… he didn't think anything in New York would help him figure that one out. It would take someone more attuned to looking at souls and changes, and he knew of only two people who could help him for that.

Dave's sudden presence at his side pulled him out of his thoughts. And wow, Dave looked just as bad as Karkat. Dirk's hand snapped out, cupping Dave's face and forcing him to look up at him. He could barely see behind the shades, but even then the darkened bags under his eyes were only rivalled by Karkat's. "You need blood," he said bluntly, keeping his voice quiet. No one needed to overhear this.

The only hint Dirk had that his words hit hard was the feeling of a muscle tensing under his hand. "Yeah, well, Karkat needs it more," Dave responded, equally as quiet. "I'm not the one who nearly died."

"If you keep feeding him without getting blood yourself, you're going to be the one who dies." And he… he couldn't take that. Not after what he had done to keep Dave safe.

"Karkat needs blood," Dave stressed, his voice tightly controlled. "In case you didn't notice, he was shot in the chest by that fucking hunter. And he only lived because it missed his heart and him drinking my blood."

And Dave was right. But he couldn't let him die to make sure Karkat lived. "I'll figure something out."

"You better."

  


* * *

  


Jake sat on his hotel bed and rotated his shoulder, hissing at the sting of pain. Well, of course it would hurt like the dickens! He had been shot. Perhaps what was worse was the lingering soreness of the bite at his throat. Blast it all, how had he let his guard down that much?

Never the less, he had a job to do. That youngling that had bitten him, for instance. And then… Dirk spoke so smoothly around him again, and Jake had nearly fallen for it again. Every little push to make him feel wrong about killing the monster that had nearly torn out his throat.

But he knew better now. He knew Dirk had only let him go to hunt him later. Next time, he wouldn't hesitate. He would take the monster down, before he could ruin any other fine lad's life over a simple lover's quarrel.

Or not so simple.

The memories of that night were… rather blurred, as if he had been intoxicated without touching a single drop of alcohol. Perhaps that amnesia thing his doctors had said whilst trying to piece together why he was half dead with a throat that looked mauled by a large animal. They said he may never get those memories back. But nothing could make him forget the argument and the sudden agony at his throat.

Nothing could make him forget what he saw behind the curtain.

He would need to act fast. Dirk did truly appear to start the change into elder. The lass's response to his admonishment was proof enough of that. She should have pushed back, if at least verbally, instead of running off. And if Dirk was becoming and elder, then whatever he could do…

He wouldn't let Dirk gain that kind of power.

In the meantime… it did bother him about that one youngling and the girl who had shot him. He would need to find her again, and see if her innocent mind had been warped as well. No human would shoot him that readily over a vampire. Poor girl… he needed to make sure she was okay.

And that the monster was bones and dust, no longer able to harm her again.


End file.
